I don’t care if a candidate is male, female, white, black or gay: I look at the person across the board on many issues but privacy is so fundamental to me and encompasses much more than access to safe abortions.

Why is this so difficult to understand? My life experience requires me to keep this issue alive so we don’t forget: we owe it to the women who came before us and to the young women that follow us: I owe this to my mother and her generation.

I did not say she was pro-choice, because those words have not ever come from her or her campaign, but the first sentence of my post is what was emailed to me (approximately) when I emailed on asked her stance on abortion.

I think words like pro-choice, anti-abortion, pro-life, etc., etc., are as antiquated now as Republican, Democrat, conservative, liberal, progressive, etc., etc. We need new words. Sarah Palin, from what I can gather, wants to move abortion out of politics and into the private realm. She does NOT want to overturn Roe v. Wade, but she also does not want the American Govt. paying for abortions. She wants to promote less juvenile sexual activity, and more responsibility, and less abortions. I agree with EVERYTHING except I think the govt. should pay for abortions because child abuse is rampant and blah blah blah.

We had 800,000 abortions performed in America last year. I think we can do better women. It should be a last choice, and while I am not judging those women I am simply asking us all to do better. Better mentoring to young girls, young women making better decisions, older women being better role models–these are all readily achievable goals that might make that number go down.

I think Sarah Palin is a very interesting woman, and those who dismiss her quickly are, in my humble opinion, totally underestimating her power, her strength, and her courage. MOST people faced with the media nuclear bomb unleashed upon her last year would never set foot in the public limelight again, yet she is back bigger than ever. I read her book and still I want more. I need a heroine who won’t back down and won’t put party above country. Who knows, it just might be Sarah.

So you want me to expressly put the DEMS on the whipping post about this issue -hand me a whip.

As far as hope: isn’t this what this site about: hoping that voting vagina will somehow move women forward together despite fundamental human differences?

I’m not a republican. I don’t know how you inferred that. Apparently, even daring to critique the democratic establishment makes one a Republican these days. Very McCarthyist, IMHO.

Also, I didn’t mention stipends. That must have been somebody else.

Interesting that you are taking conservatives to task here. That’s fine and dandy but I don’t know what it has to do with the health care bill which is what we are talking about. The pro-life dems are the problem here as well as the selling out of choice by pro-choice dems.

So apparently you won’t vote for a candidate who is pro-life (like Sarah Palin) yet you are not interested in taking to task the party who identifies as being pro – choice (Democrats) for taking many clearly anti-choice actions. Any dem who cannot give democrats a good verbal spanking on these actions does not sound like a dem who is very heavily invested in the issue of choice, IMHO.

I guess you are willing to have “hope” that these choice issues will just work out and in the end will be “watered down” or dear god, “challenged in court”. After all the hopey stuff that Obama offered in regard to choice I’m not so optimistic and it is hard for me to understand how you are.

Yes the Dems realize that to get a health care bill passed – it has to sell out choice but this is not the final version and I am confident that any restrictions can be watered down or challenged in Court.

Finally I did not ding Republicans – I called out conservatives. I know it must be hard not to be ultra sensative about being republican but I was speaking to conservatives – mostly neo bongers. And you can’t deny the fact that the neos took over the republican party on many privacy issues – during the last 10 years!

I believe you are referring to the house bill. The Stupak Ammendment in the Senate Bill is a bit tougher.

I’m not sure if any states “mandate” that the private sector insurance companies cover abortion. But 87 percent of our private sector insurance companies presently do cover abortion. Not having this coverage would be a big loss for women.

Surely this must be another way to go about health care reform! I understand single payer might be politically impossible but I do like one idea that I read about at Firedoglake, basically expanding Medicare.

I don’t know what McCain has to do with this now. I don’t think he has much power now in regard to health care reform, does he?

In regard to the anti-choice sentiments in these bills, this has nothing to do with the right. Republicans do not want this bill, no way, no how. It is actually, in this scenario at least, the dems who need to get out of our uterus. Yes, the plethora of pro-life dems who are starting to set up camp.

But hey, they like it better when we blame the Repubs for everything. It’s much cozier that way.

So unless I got to mentioned sites and do the research – right now, how many states mandate abortion coverage in private policies – does anyone know. How about prescription coverage for birth control.

While conservatives like limited government – what do conservatives want in terms of health care reform. MCcain suggested giving a $5000 tax credit but happens if people do not use the money for health care costs – sure they would lose the credit but then who pays for their medical care – we do.

Surety as a nation we can do much better and I think at the end of the day if this bill gets reconciled – we will be ok – but after all – the opposition to coverage is coming from the right with the mid-Dems cowtowing to get the bill passed. This does not mean they are going to sell us out – I will reserve judgment but this would not even be an issue of the right would get the hell out of our uterus!